American law times reports.

Vol. 1 has no general title page, being made up of vol. 1 Law times (U.S.) Court reports, vol. 1 Law times bankruptcy reports and, Vol. 1 Law times department reports.

A simple sustained release device for the ethylene binding inhibitor 1-methylcyclopropene

The efficacy of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) gas to prevent the adverse effects of ethylene is limited by its short-term residual activity in some plants. Development of a simple 1-MCP sustained release device that prolongs 1-MCP exposure is reported herein. Sustained release devices comprised of polyvinylchloride tubes containing 0.1 g SmartFresh(TM) powder (a.i. 3.3% 1-MCP) and 1.25 ml deionised water were used to release 1-MCP into fibreboard cartons containing cut Geraldton waxflower (Chamelaucium uncinatum Schauer) cv. CWA Pink bunches during export shipment by air (107 h) from Australia to the UK. The devices protected flowers against abscission induced by subsequent test exposures to ethylene (1011,mul l(-1), 12 h, 20 degreesC) for 3-5 days after arrival. In contrast, pre-shipment treatments with either a single application of 790 nl l(-1) 1-MCP for 14 h at 2 degreesC or a 0.2 mM Ag+ (as silver thiosulphate; STS) pulse for 14 h at 2 degreesC protected flowers against exogenous ethylene for only 1-2 days of post-export life. However, pre-shipment 1-MCP fumigation was up to about three-fold more effective than either sustained 1-MCP release or pre-shipment STS treatments in reducing floral organ and leaf abscission from bunches during export. Thus, it is suggested that a combination of pre-shipment 1-MCP fumigation before export with sustained 1-MCP release during shipment should maximise efficacy against ethylene-induced waxflower flower abscission. (C) 2004 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Activation of calcineurin in human failing heart ventricle by endothelin-1, angiotensin II and urotensin II

1 The calcineurin (CaN) enzyme-transcriptional pathway is critically involved in hypertrophy of heart muscle in some animal models. Currently there is no information concerning the regulation of CaN activation by endogenous agonists in human heart. 2 Human right ventricular trabeculae from explanted human ( 14 male/2 female) failing hearts were set up in a tissue bath and electrically paced at 1Hz and incubated with or without 100 nM endothelin-1 (ET-1), 10 mu M, angiotensin-II (Ang II) or 20 nM human urotensin-II (hUII) for 30 min. Tissues from four patients were incubated with 200 nM tacrolimus (FK506) for 30 min and then incubated in the presence or absence of ET-1 for a further 30 min. 3 ET-1 increased contractile force in all 13 patients (P < 0.001). Ang II and hUII increased contractile force in three out of eight and four out of 10 patients but overall nonsignificantly (P > 0.1). FK506 had no effect on contractile force (P = 0.12). 4 ET-1, Ang II and hUII increased calcineurin activity by 32, 71 and 15%, respectively, while FK506 reduced activity by 34%. ET-1 in the presence of FK506 did not restore calcineurin activity (P = 0.1). 5 There was no relationship between basal CaN activity and expression levels in the right ventricle. Increased levels of free phosphate were detected in ventricular homogenates that were incubated with PKC epsilon compared to samples incubated without PKCe. 6 Endogenous cardiostimulants which activate G alpha q-coupled receptors increase the activity of calcineurin in human heart following acute (30 min) exposure. PKC may contribute to this effect by increasing levels of phosphorylated calcineurin substrate.

Synthesis and characterization of Pd(II) and Pt(II) complexes with triazolopyrimidine derivatives: The crystal structure of [Pd2L2Cl4] where L=5,7-dimethyl-1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine

The Pd(II) and Pt(II) complexes with triazolopyrimidine C-nucleosides L-1 (5,7-dimethyl-3-(2',3',5'-tri-O-benzoyl-beta-D-ribofuranosyl-s-triazolo)[4,3-a]pyrimidine), L-2 (5,7-dimethyl-3-beta-D-ribofuranosyl-s-triazolo [4,3-a]pyrimidine) and L-3 (5,7-dimethyl[1,5-a]-s-triazolopyrimidine), [Pd(en)(L-1)](NO3)(2), (Pd(bpy)(L-1)](NO3)(2), cis-Pd(L-3)(2)Cl-2, [Pd-2(L-3)(2)Cl-4]center dot H2O, cis-Pd(L-2)(2)Cl-2 and [Pt-3(L-1)(2)Cl-6] were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis and NMR spectroscopy. The structure of the [Pd-2(L-3)(2)Cl-4]center dot H2O complex was established by Xray crystallography. The two L-3 ligands are found in a head to tail orientation, with a (PdPd)-Pd-... distance of 3.1254(17) angstrom.L-1 coordinates to Pd(II) through N8 and N1 forming polymeric structures. L-2 coordinates to Pd(II) through N8 in acidic solutions (0.1 M HCl) forming complexes of cis-geometry. The Pd(II) coordination to L-2 does not affect the sugar conformation probably due to the high stability of the C-C glycoside bond. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preparation and electrochemical properties of the layered material of LixVyO2 (x=0.86 and y=0.8)

Layered lithium-vanadium oxide with a composition of LixVyO2 (x = 0.86 and y = 0.8) was prepared by the hydrothermal reaction of V2O3 with LiOH center dot H2O at 180 degrees C. This material corresponds to a layered rhombohedral structure related to alpha-NaFeO2 in which the vanadium ions are disordered in alternate layers of octahedral 3a (0, 0, 0) and 3b (0, 0, 1/2) sites. The electrochemical properties of this Li0.86V0.8O2 material were investigated and compared with those of the layered Li0.96VO2 made by the conventional solid-state reaction. It was found that the electrochemical capacity and reversibility of the Li0.86V0.8O2 material are significantly improved compared to those of the Li0.96VO2 material; the reversible specific capacities of the Li/Li0.86V0.8O2 and Li/Li0.96VO2 systems are similar to 100 and similar to 50 mAh g(-1), respectively, under the current densities of 7.14 mA g(-1) over 20 charge-discharge cycles with a potential window of 1.50-4.50 V. Such a reversibility results from the structural stability of Li0.86V0.8O2, whereas the increase in the reversible specific capacity can be qualitatively interpreted in terms of the presence of vanadium vacancies in the structure. (c) 2005 The Electrochemical Society.

Mild wear in dry and lubricated sliding systems

A vertical pin on horizontal disc machine has been used to conduct a series of experiments in air under dry and lubricating sliding conditions. For dry sliding low load and speed combinations were chosen to correspond to the mild wear region below the Welsh T1 transition. Lubricated tests were conducted under flooded conditions using Esso Technical White Oil alone and with a 0.1% stearic acid additive, for load and speed ranges that produced substantial amounts of asperity contact and thus a boundary lubricated regime of wear. The test material in all cases was AISI 52100 steel, for unlubricated sliding subjected to loads from 5 to 50 N and a range of speeds from 10-3 to 1.0 ms-1, and for lubricated sliding loads of 50 to 123 N and for speeds of 10-2 to 1.0 ms-1. Unlubricated wear debris was found to be a mixture of -Fe_2O_3 and -Fe. Unlubricated wear was found to occur via a thin film logarithmic oxide growth followed by agglomeration into thicker oxide plateaux 2 to 10 m in thickness. Lubricated wear occurred via thick film diffusion controlled oxide growth producing homogeneous oxide plateaux 0.1 to 0.2 m in thickness. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy identified the presence of a surface film on pins worn in White Oil with stearic acid, which is thought to be iron stearate. A model has been developed for unlubricated wear based upon the postulated growth of thin film oxides by a logarithmic rate law. The importance of sliding geometry and environment to the dominant wear mechanism has been illustrated.

Efficient lasing at near 3μm by a Dy-doped ZBLAN fiber laser pumped at ∼1.1 μm by an Yb fiber laser

Operation of a single-clad Dy 3+-doped ZrF 4-BaF 2-LaF 3-AlF 3-NaF (ZBLAN) fiber laser operating at mid-infrared near 3 μm is presented. The laser is pumped by an Yb 3+-doped silica fiber laser centered at 1088 nm. An output of near 0.1 W with a slope efficiency of up to 23% with respect to absorbed pump power was measured. The laser performance, theoretical modeling and laser spectrum of Dy fiber laser system with respect to various cavity losses are studied. The experimental slope efficiency is more than 4.5 times higher than the previous demonstration, and is 64% of the Stokes efficiency limit. The efficiency was improved by using cavity mirrors of reflectivities of 99 and 50%. The emission central wavelength and spectral width are found to be dependent on the pump power and output coupler, reflectivity. © 2011 by Astro Ltd., published exclusively by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

Análise tribo-termodinâmica da aplicação de nanopartículas de Al2O3 como aditivo lubrificante em compressor hermético de refrigeração

The thermodynamic performance of a refrigeration system can be improved by reducing the compression work by a particular technique for a specific heat removal rate. This study examines the effect of small concentrations of Al2O3 (50 nm) nanoparticles dispersion in the mineral oil based lubricant on the: viscosity, thermal conductivity, and lubrication characteristics as well as the overall performance (based on the Second Law of Thermodynamics) of the refrigerating system using R134a or R600a as refrigerants. The study looked at the influences of variables: i) refrigerant charge (100, 110, 120 and 130 g), ii) rotational speed of the condenser blower (800 and 1100 RPM) and iii) nanoparticle concentration (0.1 and 0.5 g/l) on the system performance based on the Taguchi method in a matrix of L8 trials with the criterion "small irreversibility is better”. They were carried pulldown and cycling tests according to NBR 12866 and NBR 12869, respectively, to evaluate the operational parameters: on-time ratio, cycles per hour, suction and discharge pressures, oil sump temperature, evaporation and condensation temperatures, energy consumption at the set-point, total energy consumption and compressor power. In order to evaluate the nanolubricant characteristics, accelerated tests were performed in a HFRR bench. In each 60 minutes test with nanolubricants at a certain concentration (0, 0.1 and 0.5 g/l), with three replications, the sphere (diameter 6.00 ± 0.05 mm, Ra 0.05 ± 0.005 um, AISI 52100 steel, E = 210 GPa, HRC 62 ± 4) sliding on a flat plate (cast iron FC200, Ra <0.5 ± 0.005 um) in a reciprocating motion with amplitude of 1 mm, frequency 20 Hz and a normal load of 1,96 N. The friction coefficient signals were recorded by sensors coupled to the HFRR system. There was a trend commented bit in the literature: a nanolubricant viscosity reduction at the low nanoparticles concentrations. It was found the dominant trend in the literature: increased thermal conductivity with increasing nanoparticles mass fraction in the base fluid. Another fact observed is the significant thermal conductivity growth of nanolubricant with increasing temperature. The condenser fan rotational speed is the most influential parameter (46.192%) in the refrigerator performance, followed by R600a charge (38.606%). The Al2O3 nanoparticles concentration in the lubricant plays a minor influence on system performance, with 12.44%. The results of power consumption indicates that the nanoparticles addition in the lubricant (0.1 g/L), together with R600a, the refrigerator consumption is reduced of 22% with respect to R134a and POE lubricant. Only the Al2O3 nanoparticles addition in the lubricant results in a consumption reduction of about 5%.

Análise tribo-termodinâmica da aplicação de nanopartículas de Al2O3 como aditivo lubrificante em compressor hermético de refrigeração

The thermodynamic performance of a refrigeration system can be improved by reducing the compression work by a particular technique for a specific heat removal rate. This study examines the effect of small concentrations of Al2O3 (50 nm) nanoparticles dispersion in the mineral oil based lubricant on the: viscosity, thermal conductivity, and lubrication characteristics as well as the overall performance (based on the Second Law of Thermodynamics) of the refrigerating system using R134a or R600a as refrigerants. The study looked at the influences of variables: i) refrigerant charge (100, 110, 120 and 130 g), ii) rotational speed of the condenser blower (800 and 1100 RPM) and iii) nanoparticle concentration (0.1 and 0.5 g/l) on the system performance based on the Taguchi method in a matrix of L8 trials with the criterion "small irreversibility is better”. They were carried pulldown and cycling tests according to NBR 12866 and NBR 12869, respectively, to evaluate the operational parameters: on-time ratio, cycles per hour, suction and discharge pressures, oil sump temperature, evaporation and condensation temperatures, energy consumption at the set-point, total energy consumption and compressor power. In order to evaluate the nanolubricant characteristics, accelerated tests were performed in a HFRR bench. In each 60 minutes test with nanolubricants at a certain concentration (0, 0.1 and 0.5 g/l), with three replications, the sphere (diameter 6.00 ± 0.05 mm, Ra 0.05 ± 0.005 um, AISI 52100 steel, E = 210 GPa, HRC 62 ± 4) sliding on a flat plate (cast iron FC200, Ra <0.5 ± 0.005 um) in a reciprocating motion with amplitude of 1 mm, frequency 20 Hz and a normal load of 1,96 N. The friction coefficient signals were recorded by sensors coupled to the HFRR system. There was a trend commented bit in the literature: a nanolubricant viscosity reduction at the low nanoparticles concentrations. It was found the dominant trend in the literature: increased thermal conductivity with increasing nanoparticles mass fraction in the base fluid. Another fact observed is the significant thermal conductivity growth of nanolubricant with increasing temperature. The condenser fan rotational speed is the most influential parameter (46.192%) in the refrigerator performance, followed by R600a charge (38.606%). The Al2O3 nanoparticles concentration in the lubricant plays a minor influence on system performance, with 12.44%. The results of power consumption indicates that the nanoparticles addition in the lubricant (0.1 g/L), together with R600a, the refrigerator consumption is reduced of 22% with respect to R134a and POE lubricant. Only the Al2O3 nanoparticles addition in the lubricant results in a consumption reduction of about 5%.

(Table 1) Grain size composition of surface sediments from the Barents Sea shelf

The surface layer of bottom sediments on the Barents Sea shelf has an irregular but generally very low abundance of diatoms. Tests of species belonging to present-day diatom flora were absent in nearly half of samples; their abundance was only a few shells per gram of dry sediment in 30% of the samples, it was up to 100 shells per gram in 9% of the samples, and was in thousands of shells per gram in only 13% of the samples. The lowest abundances of diatom shells were found in sediments of the eastern and northeastern parts of the sea owing to unfavorable sedimentation conditions and deficiency of dissolved silica in water. But distribution of diatom species on the surface of bottom sediments is strictly consistent with their present-day ranges. About 30% of the samples contained re-deposited Cretaceous and Paleogene diatoms indicating that bottom sediments have largely formed by scouring and re-deposition of underlying material.

(Table 1) Ratio of hydroxy-GDGT vs. the total core GDGT was calculated based on the detection of hydroxy-GDGT

Hydroxylated glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (hydroxy-GDGTs) were detected in marine sediments of diverse depositional regimes and ages. Mass spectrometric evidence, complemented by information gleaned from two-dimensional (2D) 1H-13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy on minute quantities of target analyte isolated from marine sediment, allowed us to identify one major compound as a monohydroxy-GDGT with acyclic biphytanyl moieties (OH-GDGT-0). NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric data indicate the presence of a tertiary hydroxyl group suggesting the compounds are the tetraether analogues of the widespread hydroxylated archaeol derivatives that have received great attention in geochemical studies of the last two decades. Three other related compounds were assigned as acyclic dihydroxy-GDGT (2OH-GDGT-0) and monohydroxy-GDGT with one (OH-GDGT-1) and two cyclopentane rings (OH-GDGT-2). Based on the identification of hydroxy-GDGT core lipids, a group of previously reported unknown intact polar lipids (IPLs), including the ubiquitously distributed H341-GDGT (Lipp J. S. and Hinrichs K. -U. (2009) Structural diversity and fate of intact polar lipids in marine sediments. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 73, 6816-6833), and its analogues were tentatively identified as glycosidic hydroxy-GDGTs. In addition to marine sediments, we also detected hydroxy-GDGTs in a culture of Methanothermococcus thermolithotrophicus. Given the previous finding of the putative polar precursor H341-GDGT in the planktonic marine crenarchaeon Nitrosopumilus maritimus, these compounds are synthesized by representatives of both cren- and euryarchaeota. The ubiquitous distribution and apparent substantial abundance of hydroxy-GDGT core lipids in marine sediments (up to 8% of total isoprenoid core GDGTs) point to their potential as proxies.